Montgomery County Animal Control director Jeanette Farrell took these photos Thursday afternoon showing the condition of the two Huskie mix dogs from a viral video, as well as shelters that were not shown in the video, which gave the impression of abuse.(Photo: SUBMITTED/MONTGOMERY COUNTY ANIMAL CONTROL)
CLARKSVILLE, Tenn. – Thirty seconds of video shot purporting to show animal abuse and neglect have put a local family in danger for what authorities say is no good reason.
The video is from a post titled, "CLARKSVILLE, TN, Dogs Crying In Agony Left Out In The Cold! Demand Punishment For The Owners!"
Clarksville Police released a statement on Facebook on Thursday afternoon asking people to share the CPD response: "A POST ABOUT THE CPD WITH NO FACTS - Dogs in the Cold at a Clarksville Residence" – with the same fervor they shared the original post and video.
"What the public must know," wrote CPD spokeswoman Officer Natalie Hall, "is that this story is false and did not include the facts. This post and video were turned into unnecessary drama for reasons that are unknown."
The original video that went viral on Monday shows two dogs lying in the snow in a fenced-in area, howling and barking loudly.
What it didn't show were the shelters provided for the dogs.
It sparked a petition and calls for the chief of police to do something to punish the dog owners – a couple with a daughter who have been terrorized with threats of death and arson.
CPD and Montgomery County Animal Control have both investigated and found that the video did not convey anything resembling the reality of the situation.
The dogs had heated shelters (out of sight of the video, which gave the impression there were none), and food and water were placed on elevated surfaces.
Additionally, the two dogs are Husky mixes, bred to withstand temperatures far below anything experienced in Clarksville this winter.
"According to the CPD officer's report," Hall wrote, "the two dogs were both rescue dogs that the dog owner took in to save them from being euthanized by an animal shelter from which they got the dogs."
Animal Control Director Jeanette Farrell said she personally investigated and found only that one of the shelters needed to be larger.
Death, arson threats
Among the responses to the original post on Facebook, based on half a minute of video showing a single, narrow field of view:
•"Shoot the morons in the head and drag their lifeless body's out into the cold."
•"Burn down their house! (Expletive) idiots, who's the animal here the dogs or the owners!"
•"Hope these people lose their jobs, useless human beings !!!!!"
•"Stupid selfish (expletive)!!!! I just wanna shot people like this!!!!"
•"I'd LOVE to get my hands on those EVIL vile scum!!!!!..They WILL get their's in the END!!!!!!"
Farrell said the couple's daughter broke down crying after reading the comments. The couple has asked that their name and address not be released for the safety of their family.
According to one commenter on CPD's Facebook page response, "I've seen on some websites that people have mapped their address, posted photos on the house and some people even saying they would drive there."
Said Hall, speaking to The Leaf-Chronicle, "It's really scary that people will judge from one short piece of video that doesn't show everything, and then not even try to get more information."
Clarksville Police will increase patrols near the family's home and will provide additional protection if the family requests it.
Calls from 'multiple states'
In an interview with The Leaf-Chronicle on Thursday, Farrell said of the owner of the dogs, "He's been very responsive. He just spent several hundred dollars on a new doghouse to replace the smaller one of the two they have now, and it will be in place within the hour. The one doghouse was in compliance, the other was borderline.
"He's concerned about his dogs. He said he himself could fit in the new one and he has bought straw to put in there."
Farrell, new to the director's job as of this week, had a hectic start beginning on Monday when the original video post went viral.
"Of course," she said, "upon seeing the video I had concerns. So I went out with the Animal Control officer who had just received the call. We contacted the homeowner, and he was very cooperative."
Farrell said the video was misleading in a number of ways, particularly in not showing the shelters, but there was something else, totally innocuous, that added to the reaction.
"In the one neighbor's yard," she said, "there was a cardboard box that looked like a deceased dog. But it's not. It's just a box, but a lot of people were concerned about that as well."
"We have received those concerns," said Montgomery County Communications director Elizabeth Black, "not just from the local area, but from multiple states. People were saying we weren't concerned or being responsive enough. If the whole story was known, we were responsive, the owners were very willing to do what they needed to do, and the dogs are healthy."
Farrell visited the home again Thursday to check on the new doghouse, and she sent photos of the dogs and their shelters to The Leaf-Chronicle.
As of Thursday afternoon, the officers on duty at the Animal Control were continuing to receive calls about the video.
Philip Grey, 245-0719
Military affairs reporter
philipgrey@theleafchronicle.com
Twitter: @PhilipGrey_Leaf
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